In Hiding

When I decided to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an author, I never thought that I would be proven wrong on the matter. Some of my author friends told me that there would be days that I wouldn’t want to leave my cave. I thought, ‘what are you talking about?’.

I’ve always been a hybrid between an introvert and extrovert. But I prefer to go out and talk about books, anything books, tells stories, visit schools. All the things that any author thinks about. The first year and a half of being an author and selling books comprised of all of the above. Networking, being present, letting kids see you, talk when invited, be online, take pictures to prove you were there, etc. And I sold a lot of books. But then something went wrong. Very wrong. At least in my new career path. It’s different and very personal for every author.

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Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash

Caught up in the freedom, hard work and discipline of being an author, reality hits hard when you’ve got to pay the bills. And this is many author’s reality. Although we are artists and we love what we do, we aim for a higher goal, supporting reading groups, building libraries, talking and doing workshops for free. We also need to provide for ourselves and loved ones. We did leave it all behind to pursue this, to trigger and paint readers’ imaginations with wonder, creating an escape for the trapped, a refuge for the lost, a platform for the voiceless, bravery for the scared. We give hope to those who want to do the same.

So, I found my own cave. My butt stuck to a chair for hours on end, challenging my own imagination’s boundaries and creativity.

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Photo by Dimitar Belchev on Unsplash

Yet, when a hobby, a talent, something that was as easy as breathing, becomes a job, a must-do, somehow that muse goes into hiding. Mine went stubborn, like a three-year-old throwing an endless tantrum. As I decided to write YA under a pen name, my children’s muse wasn’t impressed at all. Abandoned and thrown to the side, it took some convincing and pleading that the one wasn’t to replace the other but to co-work, pushing ideas to the extreme, becoming a true artist in my own right.

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Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

I’m the happiest in my cave, I found. There I’m a child again, where I can tell stories, a dream of a happy place where smiles and rainbows live. Here I want to create a world where an angry child can find his peace, a sad one a heart that loves him, a dreamer to find the wonder again, the inquisitive to invent the next best thing.

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Photo by Alex Alvarez on Unsplash

We all need a lot of wonder, to live, to find to give, what life needs. So, when I disappear for a while, you’ll find me in hiding, creating a world where you can escape to, child and adult, all on their own, where they’re untouchable, unconquerable, brave and happy.

I hope to find you there, and when we do meet, do remember to send me a happy wave and smile.

 

Happy Reading.

Cora

xxxx